"The price for natural gas has smoothed out pretty good," Pickens told reporters on the sidelines of the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles. "I think it's bottomed."

Pickens said he wouldn't be surprised to see natural gas prices at $3 in a year's time. That would be welcome news for companies such as Chesapeake Energy (CHK, Fortune 500), Devon (DVN, Fortune 500) and EOG (EOG, Fortune 500) that have been trying to cut production.